Vice President J.D. Vance signaled the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey is just the beginning, as new reports surface on the specifics of the case.
Comey was indicted by a federal grand jury in Virginia last Thursday on one count of making false statements and one count of obstruction related to his September 30, 2020, appearance at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. But the two-page indictment offered little additional insight.
ID’ing Persons 1 and 3
As reported on Monday’s AM Update, multiple outlets are now reporting count one of the indictment against Comey (i.e. making false statements to Congress) involves his alleged decision to authorize his friend Daniel Richman to leak information to reporters about an FBI investigation related to Hillary Clinton.
According to the indictment, Comey “did willfully and knowingly make a false statement when he told the Senate Judiciary Committee he had not ‘authorized someone else at the FBI to be an anonymous source in news reports’ regarding an investigation concerning PERSON 1.”
“PERSON 1” is not defined, but reports now indicate it is Hillary Clinton. The indictment alleges Comey knew he had authorized “PERSON 3” – also not identified but believed to be Richman – to serve as an anonymous source to reporters regarding the investigation into “PERSON 1.”
The Possible Leaks
The indictment does not specify exactly which news reports the charges are in reference to, but CNN reported they center around alleged leaks related to articles involving the FBI’s investigation into Clinton’s private email server back in 2016.
Richman, a Columbia Law School professor and former personal lawyer to Comey, was brought on as a special governmental employee for the FBI by Comey from 2015 through February 2017. In 2017, Comey testified that he also gave Richman his personal memos about President Donald Trump, instructing his friend to leak them to the media.
Comey was hoping it would lead to a special counsel appointment after President Trump fired him in May 2017. His gamble was successful, as Comey’s leak through Richman clearly contributed to the decision by then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint Robert Mueller as special counsel. That episode, however, does not seem to be connected to this indictment, which appears more about the leaks related to Clinton.
According to ABC News, Richman – who is not accused of any illegal activity surrounding the Comey indictment – met with federal investigators on September 16.
More to Come?
Comey is the first former FBI director ever to be indicted, and the news has sent shockwaves through the political stratosphere. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said on Sunday’s Meet the Press that he has “no faith in Donald Trump’s judicial system” because he has turned it into “his own political fighter… to go after people he doesn’t like” and “to exonerate people that he likes.”
Over on Fox News, Vice President Vance said the legal action against Comey is just the beginning. “Well, there’s certainly going to be more indictments coming over the next three-and-a-half years of the Trump administration,” he revealed. “But we’re always going to let the law drive this stuff and the facts of the case and not political motivations.”
Comey’s arraignment is set for October 9. He faces one count of making false statements to Congress and one count of obstruction of an investigative proceeding. Each charge carries a maximum of five years in prison. Comey maintains his innocence.
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